It is generally known that a method for reconstructing a cephalometric image or a panoramic image from a CT data obtained by Computed Tomography with combining the CT data. According to the method, a two-dimensional image such as a cephalometric image is forted by overlapping each slice image of the obtained three-dimensional CT image in a view direction to be seen. There is a limit on representing depth information of a three-dimensional subject by using the two-dimensional image formed by the method since the image is obtained by combining slice images.
Accordingly, in order to increase the utility of a cephalometric image or panoramic image formed by using CT data, research of providing depth resolution information for the same has been conducted. However, according to the research results so far, as a depth resolution increases in a two-dimensional image, the image more becomes a CT image so that it can cause a sense of difference or a confusion may. In addition, conventional methods of emphasizing depth information of a two-dimensional image are performed by identifying depth information of a subject in CT data and processing based thereon, thus it takes long time to identify the corresponding CT slice. For the above reason, the conventional methods of increasing a depth resolution of a two-dimensional image are actually not useful to medical diagnosis.
Accordingly, an image processing method capable of decreasing the sense of difference and the probability of causing confusion in a two-dimensional image and of emphasizing depth resolution information in the two-dimensional image is required.